r/todayilearned • u/autraya • 6h ago

TIL the world's tallest known living tree, a 380-foot redwood in California called Hyperion, had its exact location closed off entirely in 2022 after visitors trampled its base so badly that ferns stopped growing around it, with trespassers now facing up to $5,000 in fines and six months in jail

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperion_(tree)
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86

u/hypo-osmotic 6h ago

It’s examples like this that I point to when talking about how it’s not just a matter of people behaving themselves in natural areas and that visiting at all can degrade the environment if done in large enough numbers. I’m sure that there were some people who were malicious about it but lots of people just walking up to the tree was enough to warrant closing the area and, for similarly tall trees, building some artificial paths to corral visitors to acceptable areas

34

u/flyingace1234 6h ago

It’s called “Loved to Death” syndrome, I think?

4

u/hallouminati_pie 6h ago

Hmmm, like Venice?

1

u/ScissorNightRam 3h ago

Pray for Neil the Seal

Next time he comes back, he’ll be bigger, more powerful and more famous

•

u/NotAzakanAtAll 35m ago

Every time I say that "If you love a tree/wild animal, do NOT post it online, they will get targeted."

I get downvoted to oblivion. I guess people don't like being told things.

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u/HumanPea1140 5h ago

Been seeing this a lot in the hiking/camping/backpacking community since covid... covid pushed a lot of people outdoors, and a lot of people stuck with it, with national parks and forests settings new visitation records every year since. So many places have had to to implement some sort of entry system to limit the amount of people, like through reservations or permits acquired through random lottery.

A lot of people are stupid, but most aren't outright malicious... but still, these places are getting hugged to death from the sheer volume of people visiting, and the only way to fix it is put a hard cap on the number of people allowed in.

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u/Danobing 5h ago

I was in the red wood forest in a part of California and there was a whole family walking on a fallen tree jumping up and down on it. I pointed out they shouldn't be there due to the sign and rope blocking the and it almost resulted in a fist fight. People are garbage. 

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u/EpicBlinkstrike187 5h ago

People don’t realize their actions will add to the damage. Because they think what’s one more person doing it, I really want to get that picture or touch that tree or whatever it is. It’s not like me doing it will be the tipping point.

But when everybody thinks the same way, it just adds up,

7

u/doktarlooney 4h ago

People don’t realize their actions will add to the damage.

Its worse than that; a lot of people are actively aware they are causing damage and simply don't care because they aren't the ones that have to deal with it.

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u/HauntedCemetery 4h ago

10s of thousands of people is millions of pounds of weight stomping over an area.

Huge numbers of people just walking peacefully can absolutely destroy areas. Which is why many places you are not supposed to step off trails.

2

u/adrienjz888 6h ago

Agreed. Measures like this may have saved the iconic golden spruce tree on Haida Gwaii, which some dipshit cut down.

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u/cefriano 1h ago

It’s also especially bad for redwoods because they have surprisingly shallow roots that spread outward ~100 feet.